Page 21 of Revelations of A Secret Princess

Caro’s heartbeat accelerated, hope leaping. ‘You’re offering me the job?’ She grabbed the back of the chair.

He raised his hand. ‘Not quite.’ Her heart plummeted. ‘To be frank I still have reservations, but,’ he forestalled her when she opened her mouth to respond, ‘I’ve noticed Ariane has taken to you and how attuned you are to her.’

That was good, surely?

‘But?’ She leaned forward, willing him to put her out of her misery.

His eyebrows lifted as if he wasn’t used to staff demanding answers.

‘But my niece’s well-being comes before everything else. I want to be sure I’m making the right decision, especially as on paper you’re far from the best applicant.’

Caro choked back the impulse to say Ariane could have no better carer than her birth mother. But that would be disastrous. She couldn’t reveal all too early and risk messing everything up. She had to choose her moment carefully, wait for news from Zoe. She guessed he’d resist her claim and he had far more resources at his disposal.

‘So I’m offering you a job but with a six-month probationary period.’ His crystalline gaze pinned her to the spot. ‘If I’m satisfied with your work then we’ll make it permanent.’

Permanent. That was precisely what Caro wanted.

But not permanent in the way he meant—with her as a paid carer.

Caro wanted her child. The right to love Ariane openly, to be acknowledged as her mother. Not because Jake Maynard employed her.

And, one day if she tried hard enough, maybe Ariane would love her back.

Caro’s throat closed convulsively.

The situation was convoluted, with so much potential for failure. Caro met that questioning gaze. ‘You accept?’ One dark eyebrow slashed his brow as if he was surprised she hadn’t eagerly accepted his proposal.

Caro hesitated on the brink of declaring herself. She abhorred lies yet she was deceiving this man, even if it was a lie of omission. Then she thought of Zoe’s advice. And the very real possibility Jake Maynard would eject her when she revealed her identity.

So she curved her lips in the gracious smile she’d perfected almost before she could walk. ‘That sounds ideal. I accept.’

‘Good.’

He didn’t smile. In fact, there was a crease between his eyebrows as if something bothered him. Caro silently vowed to do whatever it took to allay his doubts.

‘Ariane already calls you Caro.’ He paused, her name lingering in the silence. ‘I’ll do the same. And you can call me Jake. There’s no need for formality in front of Ariane.’

A little shimmer of pleasure exploded deep inside as Caro imagined the taste of his name on her tongue. Her pulse quickened.

A second later devastating self-knowledge slammed into her. To be thrilled at the prospect of saying his name? At hearing him say hers?

She blinked and concentrated on keeping her expression bland while inside anxiety coiled. Jake Maynard was a remarkably attractive man and she’d deliberately avoided such men for five years. Maybe that explained why he got under her skin. Whatever the reason, it wouldn’t do. She had to keep her distance.

‘Of course you may call me Caro.’ She nodded briskly. ‘However, I’d feel more comfortable calling you Mr Maynard.’

She watched his eyebrows lift, as if he were surprised to find someone who didn’t instantly agree with him.

For a full ten seconds he said nothing. Finally he nodded. ‘If that makes you feel better, Caro.’

Surely she imagined the way his voice dropped on her name and his intense scrutiny.

Abruptly Caro felt that, instead of blending into the background, she’d thrust herself into the limelight.

Exactly where she didn’t want to be.

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